Fig. 2

A Characterization of breast cancer stem cells by flow cytometry for the assessment of CD24 + , CD44 + , CD44⁺/CD24⁻, and CD44⁺ /EpCAM⁺/CK + cells in breast cancer patients. Cells expressing CD24 + was significantly down expressed compared to the other types of the assessed cells (P < 0.001 for all). There was a significant increase in Cells expressing CD44⁺/CD24⁻, and CD44⁺ /EpCAM⁺/CK + compared to those expressing CD24 + , and CD44 + . However, there was no significant difference between the number of cells expressing CD44⁺/CD24⁻, and those expressing CD44⁺ /EpCAM⁺/CK + (P = 0.123). B Association of metastasis and the expression markers of CD24 + , CD44 + , CD44⁺/CD24⁻, and CD44⁺ /EpCAM⁺/CK + cells in breast cancer patients